There For You
by LookIntoTheSun
Summary: It happened three years ago. One night. Nothing was supposed to come of it. Instead, more came out of it than anyone could have imagined.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own them or CSI. Wish I did, but I don't.**

'_I'll always be yours.'_

Greg's chocolate brown eyes repeatedly read over the fine small print that had been scripted into the inside of the silver banded diamond ring. The ring wasn't an over the top lavish _'spend a year's salary paying it off' _kind of ring. It was a simple cushion diamond. If he had remembered correctly, which he did, he didn't spend more than three hundred dollars on the ring.

He let a large breath escape his mouth that he hadn't even been aware of until he let it out. He didn't understand why he was having an anxiety issue with the ring. It's just a simple task that would take no longer than a couple of minutes. All he would have to do is ask a simple yes or no question then give her the ring to slide on her finger.

Although if she said no, then he wouldn't even have to deal with putting the ring on, so right there was a cut to the time it would take. But if she said no, he'd wallow in his own self-pity until someone had to throw him a life preserver to pull him out.

What was he thinking? They had only been dating for a little shy of a year. There was _no way_ she'd be ready to commit to such a thing as marriage. Right now it wasn't even an issue on the whole _'lust over love'_ debate. There was no doubt in Greg's mind that he was head over heels. There was nothing _to not love_ about her.

The way she'd giggle when Greg would poke fun of Hodges after shift. The way she'd crinkle up her nose in disgust when something less than pleasant would appear at a crime scene. The way she'd look up at him in his arms after they had been in bed, making love during the little time off of work they did have.

He loved her mocha colored eyes, no matter what emotion was shining through them, whether it is fatigue after a double shift, sorrow while working on a case that involved children, love as he wrapped his arms around her petite body.

She was perfect in his eyes and there was no scenario of her saying no because he didn't have a future without her in it. She _was_ his future. Hell, she was his present seeing as she was the only reason he would wake up, knowing he'd see her. She was the reason he'd go to bed, having her snug and secure in his arms with no one else in the world mattering at that moment except them.

She was his safe haven, his lifeline, if you will. Greg had already lost one friend with whom he was close and always pined for her attention. But now Sara Sidle was off in the jungle somewhere with another one of his close friends, Gil Grissom, whom he had considered a mentor. At least they were alive and well and occasionally would send him a video e-mail when time would allow. The only sign of Warrick Brown that Greg or the team would ever see would be old memories of the friends on and off of the job.

With people leaving him and Las Vegas left and right, Greg didn't know what or who to trust in anymore. When Ecklie had hired a new CSI who had transferred from St. Louis, none of the team really knew what to expect or to even think about said replacement. They all knew that no one could ever replace Sara or Warrick, as colleagues or friends.

At first glance of Riley Adams, who had actually been a police officer in her native town, Greg didn't think much of her than she was his new co-worker. They had been on good terms while investigating cases and solving them, but soon it had progressed. While shifting through crime scenes or places of interest, they would playfully flirt back and forth, much to the annoyance of Nick, who had told them to knock it off and to record the evidence that Riley had found stashed under the bed.

The teasing and flirting that was all in good fun until the case of the congressman and the suicide of his friend and chief of staff right outside of the courtroom. Greg had known from the moment that the two had begun searching his car, that something had hit a nerve in her deep somewhere. He decided not to press the issue, when Nick told him that she wasn't shy and if she wanted to talk, she would. But enough had been enough, and after the team's every once and a while get together after the case, Greg had pulled Riley aside as the team was leaving to return home to get some sleep before their next shift.

Through much coaxing, Greg had convinced Riley to stay a bit longer in the bar and talk to him. He had even offered that if she didn't want to talk about the case, that he was open to listen to anything else she had to say. She had told him that she was the second of three children, having an older sister and a younger brother. She had also told him that she had a pet snake that ate her younger brother's pet mouse.

After the laughing and reminiscing about their younger years, Riley let out a deep sigh and cleared her throat before telling Greg the whole story, from start to finish. Long story short, had been Riley's junior year of high school and she had lost her best friend to suicide after discovering she was pregnant after being raped.

Greg made sure to be there for her as she spoke the story. Although she was trying to keep her composure, he knew she was crumbling inside. He knew, because he had been there too. Telling the story of getting the living shit beaten out of you by violent offenders, over and over to people over the years eventually got to him, as it would anyone.

Riley eventually ended her story, looking up at her awestricken fellow worker and sniffling back tears, joked about how she looked like such a buffoon. Greg bit his lip and shook his head back and forth slowly and replied simply, "No, you look like a person. You're a perfectly fine person."

Their relationship had only grown from there. Of course it wasn't going to be as strong as Nick or Catherine at that moment, but Greg had just felt something that he hadn't felt in a long, overdue time; sparks. Sure, he had sent countless signals to Sara, some of which she'd playfully return, but that compared to what was lurching in his heart was nothing but schoolyard crushing.

Every case that Greg and Riley worked together, he could feel the sparks start to light themselves. Every glance she threw his way would add arsenic to the fire. Every accidental bump while walking past each other would leave an electrical feeling on Greg for the longest time.

Not being able to hold anything in his body back any longer, while collecting evidence in an alleyway for a recent breaking and entering, Greg made a quick glance back and forth of the alley and when the coast was clear, he made his move.

Gripping Riley by her slender shoulders, he backed her into the rough, brick wall and before she could protest, her words were cut off by Greg's soft lips atop hers. It wasn't a carnal or rough kiss, dripping with sexual tension. Instead it was a soft, gentle kiss. It was so gentle, that Greg wasn't even sure if their lips had touched.

Pulling away, Greg was gulping back his nerves as he was almost positive that Riley was going to push him back, calling him different profanities. Letting his hands rest softly on her hips, Greg looked up at her face. Riley reached one hand out and played with the hairs on the back of Greg's neck, while the other caressed his cheek with a feather light touch.

The next five words that had spilled quietly from Riley's mouth would change both of their lives forever. _"What took you so long?"_ she said, with a small yet visible smirk splayed across her face.

The familiar sound of a key being put into the front door lock of the apartment thrust Greg back into the current and out of his past. Fumbling to put the small ring back into the velvet box, he finally accomplished it, pushing it inside of his hoodie pocket.

As Greg looked towards the front door, a smile grew on his face seeing who had walked through the door and locked it behind her. "Hey cutie." Greg smiled in Riley's direction. He took in her appearance. She was wearing a pair of his basketball shorts that went to about her knee. Her light blue tank top was fitted tight around her body, darker areas from where she had sweated and her perspiration has soaked through.

"Hey, baby." She said, tossing her key and her iPod onto the kitchen counter and kicking her running shoes off into the corner. Reaching her hands downwards and crossing them, she grabbed the hem of her tank top and pulled the offending material off of her body, tossing it into the clothes hamper into the hallway laundry room.

Exhausted from her morning run, Riley didn't try to hide a wide yawn that had escaped her mouth as she pulled her hair out of her tight ponytail. Sweat from her forehead had dripped down to Riley's bra covered chest.

Raising an eyebrow, Greg blinked rapidly a few times as he stared at the almost half naked woman. But apparently his peep show was cut short as Riley quickly realized what had caught her boyfriend's attention. "Want a free peek?" Riley let out a giggle as she pulled off her socks and slowly pulled the already too big shorts off of her body, tossing the sweat soaked clothing into the laundry room.

Walking into the living room, clad in a black bra and matching panties, Riley teasingly put her hand on her hip and began doing what appeared to be a model's runway walk across the room and into the hallway. Greg raised his eyebrow once again, silently thanking the lords above that he and Riley had a very open relationship in which walking around the apartment half naked wouldn't faze the other…in a bad way, at least.

"Not until you take a shower!" Greg yelled jokingly down the hallway that led to their bathroom. Leaning back onto the couch, Greg positioned himself with his head at the end and he was laying comfortably. Pulling his hood up and snuggling his arms into his sleeves, Greg closed his eyes in an attempt to try to rest. But one thought lingered in his mind even as the heavy sleep took over his body.

'_Tonight's the night. Don't blow it.'_

**A/N Any good? I don't know where this idea came from. The evil plot bunny, I suppose, heehee. Well reviews please. Just don't flame.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own CSI or its characters; only my own character/s and my plotline/s (Sorry, this chapter is a bit shorter)**

"Well, another case solved and closed." Ray said, holding his glass up, smiling at his co-workers. Catherine followed suit and held her glass up, as did Nick. Greg took a deep breath as he held up his glass next to Riley's.

"I'll drink to that." Riley spoke, still holding her glass up, smirking at the team. She lowered her glass and sipped it, swirling the straw around the drink. She turned her head to Greg who was resting a soft hand on her thigh.

As everyone put their glasses back down onto the table, Greg sighed deeply and cleared his throat. "Um…I don't know how to put this, but I have something to tell Riley." He said, looking back and forth at the table, taking in all the gazes that he was receiving.

His gaze finally rested on Riley, who stared back at him, her eyebrow raised in the most adorable way. She reminded Greg of a curious puppy wondering when people would take him home from the pet store. Greg rested a hand on her cheek, smiling widely.

"Um, I. Wow. Don't even know how to do this." Greg thought out loud, realizing it, as the others stared at him confused. Taking a long, deep and relaxing breath Greg started again. "Riley, you know I love you right?"

Riley's response was a simple head nod up and down, her hand over Greg's that was still placed on her cheek.

"I love you. Like, a lot. There's nothing I love more than waking up with you next to me and going to sleep with you in my arms. I love being able to tell you anything. I love how whenever I have a bad day, you're always right there to pick me up again. I love how you know me better than anyone. I love how I have dreams about us being together until we're old and dying. You're the girl I used to always fantasize about falling in love with and marrying and having kids with." Greg swallowed deeply, taking his hand away from Riley's face and digging into his leather jacket pocket. Breathing a breath through his nose, Greg stood up, pushing his chair out of the way and shakily got down on his right knee in front of the now stunned CSI.

Opening the small velvet box, Greg spoke the most beautiful words Riley was ever about to hear. "I love you more than anything or anyone in this world. Riley Paige Adams, will you marry me?" he asked, looking into her eyes, which were slowly becoming cloudy with tears welling up.

Slowly covering her mouth with a shaking hand, she let out a quiet sob. "Greg. O-oh my god." She said, her voice cracking with tears. She was looking from his face to the ring he was holding. "Yeah. Yes." She shook her head so quickly; her ponytail was bouncing up and down rapidly.

Greg felt an enormous weight be lifted off of his shoulders and his whole body for that matter as he took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto Riley's finger. As Riley let out another sob, seeing the ring on her finger, Greg took her crying body into his arms. Gripping onto his jacket, Riley sobbed, whispering the words into the crook of his shoulder and neck. 'I love you, Greg.'

Greg continued to kiss his fiancée's head as he looked to the table at what the reactions of his co-workers were. Looking to Catherine, he could've sworn that he saw tears glistening in her eyes, smiling brightly at Greg. Nick and Ray both had wide smiles on their faces and Nick was giving Greg a thumbs up, which Greg had returned, his mouth almost sore from smiling so wide as he sniffled back tears.

Finally pulling away from his shoulder, Riley pulled Greg's head to hers, placing a feather light kiss on his lips and sighing when they rested their foreheads together gently. "Mmm, I love you." She said, giggling through another hiccup. Greg gave a gentle chuckle to the beautiful girl in front of him and he wiped a tear that had slowly traveled down her cheek.

"So I've heard." He said, sarcastically. Kissing her one last time, Greg sat back down in his seat as Riley went back to sit back in her chair when she heard Catherine say no sternly. Looking in her direction quickly, Riley raised an eyebrow.

"I wanna see the ring." Cath smiled as Greg pulled Riley into his lap and she turned, holding her hand out to the older woman and grinning like a Cheshire cat. Catherine stared at the ring for a few moments and whistled, before speaking. "Damn, Greggo. You must really love this girl." She said, as Greg looked up into Riley's eyes.

"I do. I really do." He said, stroking her cheek with his thumb, smiling as it began to turn a dark crimson color and heat began to flush to the skin.

"I'm the best man, right? 'Cuz you know, I think I deserve it." Nick spoke up from his seat, ruining the newly engaged couple's moment. Riley glared at him and balled up Greg's napkin in front of her and threw it at the Texan's head, squealing when it came flying back at her. She put her hands in front of her face to dodge it.

*****

Later on in the evening while the couple attempted to get a few hours of sleep, shrill ringing throughout the bedroom woke up the groggy CSI who was in the middle of a very nice dream involving Riley in a bikini and lots of whipped cream. Groaning in annoyance, Greg reached over Riley's sleeping body and blindly grabbed for his work cell that was still chirping. "Sanders." He said his voice still full of evident sleep.

"Greg, we need you and Riley at a scene. We have a four nineteen at the Fremont Hotel and Casino." Nick's voice filled Greg's still tired head. Scratching the back of his neck, Greg looked to the bedside digital clock. '2:18'. Greg threw the blankets off of his body and stood up, stretching his arm upwards, lifting his shirt, showing the patch of skin above his boxers and below his tee.

"Alright. I'll wake Riley up and we'll be there ASAP." Greg said his goodbyes to Nick and flipped his cell shut. Greg flipped on the bedside lamp, which made Riley immediately groan and pull the blue comforter over her head.

Smiling, Greg moved the blankets off of Riley's body. His hand went to her forehead, sweeping the hair out of her face, speaking quietly. "Ri, come on. We have to be at a scene." He said, walking across the room and picking up his jeans that were lying outside of their closet. Pulling them up and buttoning them, he looked to the bed where Riley was starting to sit up. Greg zipped the pants up and grabbed a black button up shirt from the back of the chair.

Riley stared down at her finger, holding her hand up and turning it back and forth trying to capture light in the diamond. She felt a gaze on her and looked up slowly with tired eyes to see Greg looking down on her with admiration in his eyes. "I love the ring so much." She said, forming her hand into a fist and kissing down on the ring finger.

Greg chuckled, sitting down at the computer desk and grabbing his shoes, putting them on his feet, still staring at Riley. "I'm sure it loves you too, but you have to get a move on." He said, bringing his foot onto the chair and tying the laces of his shoe.

Riley groaned and rolled her eyes and she stepped out of bed. Rubbing sleep out of her eyes, she stretched, cracking her knuckles in the process. She picked up her black pants that lay near the window and yanked them onto her slender legs, buttoning them and zipping them up. Grabbing a light blue shirt that lay on the ground next to her side of the bed, she pulled her tank top off and pulled it over her head.

She had made eye contact with Greg who was pulling his leather jacket on over his shirt, rummaging through the desk for his car keys. "Top left drawer, hun." She said, quickly putting on her tennis shoes on. She heard Greg mumble thanks as she walked to her bedside table and opened the drawer to pull out her holster. Fastening it on her side and she slid her gun into it, making sure it was secure.

Greg looked down at his watch, and then looked back at Riley. "You ready?" he asked, running his hands through his hair, attempting to tame his bed head hair. At the motion of her head nod up and down, the two CSI's had made their way out of their apartment.

**A/N: So, this was going to be just a two-shot, but the plot bunny visited my head last night and I HAD to make a story with my idea. So, hope you all stick around to see...ehm…read the rest. Thanks.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own CSI or its characters; only my character/s and plotline/s**

Pulling up to the Fremont Hotel and Casino, Greg shut off the engine and pulled his keys out of the ignition. Looking at the sight and was more than positive that there was a crime that had taken place. There were several Las Vegas Police Department cars. There were multiple people being interviewed and asked questions by officers. Greg undid his seatbelt as he saw Brass come out of the hotel, notepad in hand.

Riley mimicked Greg's move as she too undid her seatbelt from the passenger's seat. She threw her hand behind her head and gathered her long locks into a low ponytail so that she wouldn't look like she just woke up out of bed, even though that was the case, no one else had to know just by looking at her.

"Come on, Mrs. Sanders." Greg winked at Riley jokingly as he opened the car door. Riley had given a small chuckle in return to the name she had just been called. Getting out of the car, Riley went to the back seat and opened the back door. She pulled out her CSI vest and slipped it over her blouse. Straightening and making herself look half decent, Riley grabbed her kit from the floor and had shut the door. She heard Greg lock the car, by hearing the small chirping noise the key he was holding made.

"Where's the vic?" Greg asked as he and Riley approached Brass, meeting him halfway to the entrance and the parking lot. Riley and Greg looked at the older man as he looked down at his notepad and scanned over a few things on it quickly, before flipping it shut and putting it in his inside jacket pocket.

"Third floor. Room 308. Vic's name is Brielle Campbell." He had told the two CSI's. As soon as the woman's name left Brass' mouth, Greg had raised his eyebrow. He knew that name. He knew it from somewhere. The girl was on the tip of his tongue and he couldn't put a face to a name, even though he hadn't even known where he'd heard of her.

Riley nodded at Brass and began to make her way into the large hotel. As she put her hand on the door to push it open, she had realized that Greg wasn't by her side. Turning her head back to where they had just been at, she saw Greg staring off into space, obviously thinking about something. She made a side note to ask him about it later. "Hey, Sanders. You comin' or not?" she asked, smiling as he came back down to Earth, shaking his head free of his thoughts.

"What? Oh, yeah. I'm coming." He said, walking up to be side by side with Riley as they entered the building. Finding the closest elevator, Riley reached out and pressed the up button. Riley tapped her fingers against the wall, patiently waiting for the elevator to reach their floor. Soon, the elevator gave a ding as the door opened and revealed the empty room. The two walked in and as soon as Riley was in, she pressed the number three.

Greg leaned his head against the back wall, letting out a sigh. Riley faced the doors as Greg stared at her back, smiling. He reached his hand forward and linked her pinky finger with his own. Riley looked back at her fiancée with a smile on her face while mouthing the words 'I love you.' Greg winked in a silent reply to her.

The doors open and the two broke apart as they walked out, immediately seeing that there was indeed a crime scene nearby. Crime scene tape went across the white wood door of room 308. A few uniforms were outside of the door, making sure no unauthorized people entered the room. As the two approached the door, they held up their passes and Greg held up the caution tape, allowing Riley to duck under first with him following right behind her.

"Well 'bout time you guys showed up, sleepyheads." Nick threw a glance in the newly arrived CSI's, while going through the room's dresser and pointed to the bed, where the victim lay. "Name's Brielle Campbell, don't know if Brass told you that or not. Apparently, according to the front desk clerk, she's staying here while her place is getting fumigated. Sh-"Nick's information drown out of Greg's mind as he stared at the deceased girl on the bed.

It was all coming back to him. He had finally put the face with the name. Granted, he hadn't even seen the girl in almost four years. Even then, it was only a night or two he had seen her. But he could never forget the face. It was something that he knew from the night it happened that her face would be forever etched in his mind. His throat began to close up, his breathing become heavier. He stared in awe at the girl.

"Greg!" the booming sound of Nick's voice brought Greg back down to crime scene where everyone else was at. He looked slowly from the bed to his friend, gulping deeply. Rubbing his brow, Greg bit his bottom lip harshly as he looked at Nick give him a confused look. "You okay, man?" Nick asked, brushing the counter for prints.

"Ye-yeah. Fine. So uhm, Super Dave." He turned to him, examining the body. "What's COD?" he asked as he took a full frontal photo of the body. Dave turned and looked up at Greg and cleared his throat. Moving the red haired woman's head to the side, pointed to a gunshot wound in the side of her neck.

"Gunshot wound inflicted in the neck. It wasn't close range. The bullet didn't have an exit, so if it's not too mangled when I cut her open, I'll give ballistics the bullet. Liver temp suggests that she's only been dead a few hours." He spoke, placing the body back into place.

Riley couldn't help but stare at Greg as he continued to take pictures of the body and the scene. She could see his shaking hands whenever he would raise his arms to take a photo. She could see the deep breaths he would take as he'd get closer and closer. She knew something was not right about this victim. It felt like this was no normal victim for Greg. It had to be a personal case one way or another.

"Hey Nick, did the desk clerk say if she had any kids with her?" Riley asked, bending down near the bed, after seeing something near Brielle's luggage, presumably. She heard Nick reply to her question with a no and then a question of why. Riley pulled the item out of the space between her luggage and the bed. She held up a small stuffed bunny. The body of the bunny was white as the rest of the bunny was a light baby pink color.

"I don't know much about the victim, but I don't think a grown woman would carry around a stuffed bunny." She said, twirling the stuffed animal around. She had seen Nick walk over with an evidence bag and very carefully she had placed the bunny into the bag before Nick sealed it.

Brass walked into the room and knocked on the doorframe. "We contacted the victim's roommate. She's on her way to the station now." He informed the CSI's processing the room.

****

"Ms. Talbert, when was the last time you've talked to your sister?" Catherine asked Maya Talbert, who had been gripping tightly onto a tissue as she sniffled loudly. Rubbing her nose with said tissue, Maya began to speak of the last time seeing her best friend alive.

"Yesterday. Her house is getting fumigated and she wanted to stay at the Fremont instead o-of coming to stay with me. Sh-she said it would be closer to her work than from my place." She said, pausing to take a deep breath and let out a quiet sob. "So she let Addie come stay with me, because she knew she'd be working." Maya wiped her eyes with her long sleeve, sniffling once more.

"Who's Addie?" Catherine asked, writing down some information in a note pad. She looked at the distressed young woman. Maya rubbed her forehead and answered Catherine.

"Brie's daughter. She's three and a half. She likes to stay at my house because I have a TV. Brie never let her watch much at her house, saying it was more fundamental for her to learn skills. God, I loved that girl like a sister, but she couldn't get it through her bottle red hair that Addie's still a baby and doesn't want to learn." Maya chuckled dryly, thinking of her deceased friend.

Catherine raised an eyebrow and cleared her throat, thinking of asking the next question, which was most typical with single mother victims. "Maya, did Brielle have problems with Addie's father? Someone that might want to hurt her?" she asked, handing another tissue to the whimpering girl.

Maya shook her head, taking the tissue and thanking Catherine. "N-no. Brie had Addie because of a one night stand a few years ago. She hooked up with some dude at a bar a few nights. It was after she had lost one of her jobs and said she just needed to get away for the weekend. Surprise for her a few weeks later, when she went to the doctor."

"Did she ever try to contact this hook up about the baby?"

"No, but why are we talking about Addie? Shouldn't you be finding out who killed Brielle?"

Catherine sighed deeply and tried to give a few words of encouragement to the grieving friend. "Maya, we are trying. Once we know more details, you'll be the first to know. Now, did Brielle have any family? We need someone to take Addie because of the investigation; she needs to be in temporary child services." Catherine told her, waiting on the girl to reply. When she got absolutely nothing back from Maya as a response, she placed the note pad in front of her. "Write down your address. I'm going to have a uniform pick up the girl." She said.

Maya wiped a few stray tears from her eyes before nodding and taking the pen and writing down her address quickly. "Ju-just take care of her and find who killed Brie, okay?"

Catherine nodded. "Yes. You can go now. I'll keep in touch if anything comes up." She said as Maya snatched her purse from the back of the chair and walked out of the room, her heels clicking against the tile and echoing in the metal room.

**A/N: COUGH. No, nothing seems coincidental. COUGH. Ha, or does it? Well, you'll have to keep reading to find out. Reviews are love!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Don't own CSI or its people. (NOTE: Maya is Brielle's **_**best friend**_**. **_**Not roommate or sister**_**. I didn't catch it until posting and got too lazy to fix it :P and also, I didn't include the whole interview between Maya and Catherine, because it would've been too long and repetitive.)**

Hours of crime scene photos, fingerprints, trace and lots of coffee had added up to nothing, not even one iota of evidence that could be somewhat helpful to the homicide. Doc Robbins had confirmed that the vic had been shot with a nine millimeter from at least across the room, seeing as it didn't appear to be a close range shot. Nick, Riley and Greg were waiting on a report back from Bobby in ballistics to see if anything interesting showed up about the bullet.

Catherine walked in, holding a manila folder. Riley looked up from the table to see her walk in. "Hey, Catherine. Did you get anything from the friend?" she asked, standing up straight, causing Nick and Greg to become aware of Catherine's presence. Catherine gave a half shrug, laying the folder out onto the layout table.

"Not much. Maya said that Brielle was a mother, had a little girl." She sighed deeply. No child should ever have to lose their mother or any parent at that young of an age and let alone that violently. Nick shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Poor girl. Is she staying with her father or a family member for now?" he asked curiously, watching as Riley opened the folder that now lay open on the table. Catherine gave Riley an understanding look as she was about to answer Nick's question.

"No, there isn't a father listed on the birth certificate. It says here that she's in temporary foster care at the moment." Riley said, dragging her finger along the text as she read it, after she was done she held up the folder for one of the boys to take. Greg accepted the folder almost a bit too grabby, looking at the little girl's photograph and the information on it.

_**Name:**__** Addison Jade Campbell**_

_**DOB:**__** August 12, 2007**_

_**Parent/s:**__** Mother – Brielle Eve Campbell, Father – Unknown**_

After his dark eyes scanned the little girl's info, they became instantly glued to the small picture that was attached to the corner of said information. His heart clenched and due to the strong vice grip wasn't planning on settling down anytime soon. The little girl grinned to the camera, the sun above her enhanced her deep brown orbs. He knew those eyes. They were a complete duplicate of the ones that his mother had passed down to him.

'_No! There is no way this could've happened.'_ Greg's mind screamed at him with a ten volume stereo blasted up to eleven. His hands trembled as he tossed the folder back down almost mindlessly. He looked from Catherine and to Nick before his gaze rested upon Riley, the look she had returned to him could've broken his heart, put it back together and shattered it once more.

"Greg, are you okay?" Catherine asked, concerned for the younger CSI. Greg had a biting hold of his lower lip, taking in deep breaths slowly to try to calm whatever was wrong with him. Shaking his head, he groaned loudly as he answered Catherine.

"No. Find her father. If she's in foster care now tha-that means her DNA is on file now. Wendy can find paternal matches in the database." Greg said, running his hands through his hair, distressed. Greg's agitation was growing rapidly continuing to see his three co-workers' gazes still planted firmly on him. Getting as fed up as he could, he reached down and slammed the folder shut and yanked it upwards. "Or not, whatever. I'll do it my goddamned self." He said, jogging out of the room, presumably to the DNA lab to talk to Wendy.

Riley cleared her throat, trying to push back the lump that was threatening oh so slowly to come upwards and out. "Uhm, did you ever get word on whether the fumigators gave us the o-okay to go in yet?" she asked, sifting through papers, locating the one that had the victim's address and living details typed across it.

Looking back into the hallway and into the room, Catherine crossed her arms and nodded. "Yes actually, about fifteen minutes ago. You can go and take Ray with you. I'll wait for Bobby to give us the news on the bullet. Nicky, g-go talk to Greg. If this case is personal, I'm going to have to pull him off." She said, pulling out a chair in front of the table as the two CSI's nodded and left the room to do as they were told from their supervisor.

******* **

"Greggo." Normally Greg would've looked up at the mere mention of his trademark nickname, especially from the man who had first called him by it in the lab. His hands were covering his face as his elbows rested on the break room table. He was still taking deep breaths to try to regulate his breathing pattern.

"Don't Nick. Just don't. I know Cat probably sent you to see if I was fine. I'm fine. I'm not bleeding; I don't have any broken bones." He said, trying to convince Nick that he was perfectly fine. Of course, Greg should've known that Nick wasn't as gullible as he thought to be.

"Yeah, because when I'm feeling fine and dandy, I love to blow up and rush out of a room angrily." Nick said in a deeply sarcastic tone, taking a seat next to Greg at the table. He no longer had the folder with him or in the room, so he must had already dropped it off with Wendy. "Man, come on and talk." Nick said, patting the younger man's back, trying to comfort him, which was difficult when he didn't even know what he needed to be cheered up about.

"Have you ever been _so_ afraid of gaining someone in your life because you knew it might push someone else you love away?" Greg asked. He was still covering his face by his hands, so the question was slightly muffled, but Nick was able to decipher what Greg had asked him.

Nick raised an eyebrow as Greg finally lifted his head from his hands, looking as if he were going to shatter at any moment. Sighing deeply before answering, Nick shook his head and opened his mouth "No, not in that sense. B-but what's wrong? Something with Riley?" Nick asked dumbfounded as to what could be causing Greg so much tension and turmoil.

Greg shrugged and when he did that Nick was finally able to see tears that were in Greg's eyes that he knew Greg was trying his hardest not to let fall. Not in front of him, not in front of work. He just didn't want them to fall. "I don't know. I-" Greg was cut off by Wendy walking into the break room, tapping gently on the doorframe.

As Nick and Greg looked in her direction, she quickly looked down at the results she had printed off. "I-I found a paternal hit off of Addison's DNA that was put in from foster care." She said, scratching her head nervously. Nick looked back and forth between Greg and Wendy before asking what Greg did not bother to. "So, who is he? If he's in the system he might be a person of interest."

"Uhm, I don't think so."

***** **

Greg sat on the bench in the locker room, softly hitting his head against his locker. His mind taunted him constantly.

'_You fucked up royally, Sanders. Way to make it awkward for Riley._' He banged his head a little harder that time to make the thoughts or rather taunts diminish in his head. He had memorized the wording on the results.

'_After a search for possible paternal DNA matching, the database as conclusively linked __Gregory Sanders__ as the father of __Addison Campbell__. Results show a __**99.5**__ percent chance of possibility.'_

Greg had been sitting in the locker room, staring into nothing and listening to the burning noise of silence for almost an hour. He didn't want to stay in the break room, wanting to be alone. He didn't go back to his office; someone might hear him say a few colorful or offensive slurs to no one in particular.

Suddenly, Greg felt his cell vibrate, telling him that someone had sent him a text message. _'Talk about shitty timing.'_ He scoffed to himself before looking at his phone. His heart began to pound in and against his chest painfully as he saw Riley's name across the screen. With shaky hands, Greg flipped over the phone, scanning the text.

'_Nick told me that u need 2 tell me something. What is it?' _he could feel and even hear the panic of her mind as he read the text. He could almost see her in the Denali, hands shaking slightly as she typed and sent the text to him. Quickly hitting the reply option on his phone, he sent a short reply back to Riley.

'_We'll talk home'_ he clicked the send button and flipped his phone shut just as he heard someone's footsteps near closer to the locker room, telling Greg he was no longer alone as he had been for an hour and counting. Looking up from his locked gaze of the bench, he saw Catherine staring at him. Her eyes and stare had a combination of worry for Greg and seriousness of the case.

"Wendy showed me those DNA results." Catherine began telling Greg what he had already known. Looking up at his boss, Greg shrugged.

"It's getting around the lab. No surprise." He said, once again staring downwards, trying to move away from Catherine's gaze that was burning a hole into him. At that moment he just wanted the bench to fall down an inconspicuous pit and bring him to solitary silence.

"Greg. I'm not going to ask how or why, because it's none of my business, unless you want to share. But as much as I don't want to, because you're one of my best investigators b-"Greg cut off what Catherine was about to tell the Level three CSI. Standing up, grabbing his jacket from behind him, he sighed deeply.

"Yeah, I know. Off the case. Personal connection. Are you going to tell me now I can't go and meet my daughter?" the last word that came out of Greg's mouth hit him in the stomach at full force. That word was foreign to him. Of course he had used the word more than many times in his career, but it took on a different tone as he realized it was _his_ daughter. He was a father. He had helped create a human being.

Catherine shook her head rapidly and answered Greg. "No, I didn't say that. I faxed the results to the Children's Services building. So, uh, just go set up a time where you want to go see her." She said, almost at a loss as to what to say to Greg. It wasn't as if everyday a member of their team found out they had child they didn't know of before.

Greg nodded and as he walked out of the locker room, he paused in the doorway and turned on his heels. "Hey Cath, can you not tell Riley? I kind of wanna tell her at home." He asked, shoving a hand into the pocket of his jeans as his eyes scanned the woman. Catherine nodded at him in a full understanding way. "Sure thing, Greggo. And remember me and Nick are here when you need to talk to anyone, okay?" she reminded him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Greg nodded into her touch. "Ye-yeah. Find out who did this please and send their ass to jail." He spoke, taking deep breaths in through his nose. Catherine gave a small nod and smile as to give Greg a silent agreement with him before he left the lab.

**A/N: So there's that chapter. I hope it isn't too dreadful. I'm having some issues in my life and I've found that writing calms me, but since I have some things on my mind, it may not be all too good. But, I'll start next chapter when this gets posted. Reviews are pretty cool, ha.**


End file.
